Manufacturing

There has been a lot of talk about getting students excited about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education as a way of filling the talent gap, particularly in manufacturing. But many companies today are doing more than just talking about it. Some manufacturing CEOs are making it a strategic priority.

IN WRAPPING UP the deal with to locate a giant EV-battery factory near Reno, CEO Elon Musk gained one last, very important concession: a measure making it legal for Tesla to sell directly to Nevada residents without having to go through a traditional dealer of the type that all existing automakers use.

Remember when it was cool to make a 3D printed keychain? Well, those days are gone. 3D manufacturing has achieved a major shift in its lifecycle: it is now scalable.This means that companies large and small are going beyond simple prototyping and are now using 3D for complete production runs.

Manufacturing CEOs looking to expand their facilities or open factories in states other than the one they’re in now should track the progress of state right-to-work legislation and trends in union membership to discern their influence on politics and economics.

A pro-growth tax plan based on 5 factors, including a maximum corporate tax rate of 25%, would add almost 1 percentage point (about 0.9) to GDP growth on an annual basis, NAM says, and the initial-year impact would be slightly greater as a result of the territorial system transition tax.

Manufacturing continued to expand in January, growing for the 20th consecutive month, although growth was slower than December, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s Latest Report On Business.